So I ordered my 2013 Focus SE on Oct 31/Nov 1 (or anyways, the dealer claims to have put in the order). However, they've yet to approach me with the ETA.

Now, I'm fully prepared to wait for the car. However, I'd expect a ballpark ETA from the factory/dealership (the week of ____, for example). The dealer's telling me that the car just "shows up" when they have it, which confuses me -- how am I supposed to have enough time to arrange my insurance, license plate, etc.?

Anyways, I'm trying to plan my life for the next few months, and I need to know when the car is arriving (for road trips, car repairs, traveling, etc.).

I have an order number printed on a copy of the invoice for the order that they gave me, although I don't know if this is an internal-to-dealer invoice number or whether it works with the Ford Factory too.

Is there someone that can help me? Or are both the dealership and I at the mercy of the factory here? Thanks!

Ask for dealer for a copy of the "DORA" (Dealer Order Receipt Acknowledgement). This is the form that shows Ford does indeed have the order. Near the top (about the second line), you'll see a dealer code number (two digits, a letter, three digits, followed by the dealer name). Next line down you should see a 4-digit order number. These two pieces of information are useful for tracking your order.

Get in touch with a Ford customer service rep, and ask them for your order status. A PM to "FordCustomerService" on this website has always produced a quick response for me. You can also find them on Facebook, or on the phone. There's a volunteer at blueovalforums.com that will give you status updates as well.

It generally takes a while after the order is submitted for Ford to commit to building it and give it a build date. (For instance, I placed an order on Sep 28; only last week did it actually get scheduled. That was for an ST, though; SEs are both higher volume and without the same backlog, so there's a good chance you'll wait less time.) Until they do, nobody knows exactly how long it will take. You get to be patient.

The first sign of committment is assigning the order a VIN. This means Ford found all the parts in the shed out back and is definitely going to assemble the car. Shortly thereafter, the car should get a "build date" for that assembly to occur. The build date can also be found on the window sticker (which you can get on the web once you have the VIN). The build date has an accuracy about to the week, not the day, but it's usually pretty reliable.

Once the car is built, they have to ship it. The time it takes depends on how they do that -- car carrier, rail, etc -- where you live, and mysterious factors known only to Ford and the railroads. I see you're in Canada, which means most of what I think I know from the US may be irrelevant. But shipping might take two or three weeks from Michigan to California. I'd expect it to be a little faster to Ontario, but not necessarily a lot faster. I've seen reports from people living in the town with the assembly plant that still take weeks to get to the dealer. It's not the speed of just driving there; it's the shipping process.

Overall, the minimum time from order to receipt of the car is probably 6-8 weeks. 12-15 wouldn't be unusual. From your build date, probably around two weeks.

Your dealer can probably come up with a better estimate of shipping time if you press them. The salesmen probably don't know (or care); they probably order every week and inventory shows up whenever. But there's an ordering manager working there somewhere that could try looking up their last few Focus SEs and get you a better idea.

Amazing. Thank you for the info!! I'm going to give them until Wednesday before I ask them for the DORA. I don't want to be difficult after all, especially if as you say, it seems like Ford itself is rather last minute with releasing the VIN/build date.

Amazing. Thank you for the info!! I'm going to give them until Wednesday before I ask them for the DORA. I don't want to be difficult after all, especially if as you say, it seems like Ford itself is rather last minute with releasing the VIN/build date.

Ford releases the vin immediately as soon as the vehicle is actually scheduled to be built, which can be up to 2-3 weeks before the car is built, however its up to your dealer to get you this information when they decide to, or if you ask for it.

It can take as little as one day to have the order accepted and scheduled if the dealer had allocation and the order was submitted on a Wednesday, as scheduling was usually on Thursday mornings.

However if they had not had the allocation for the car it can take weeks before the car goes from being an order to being scheduled to be built.

...I have an order number printed on a copy of the invoice for the order that they gave me, although I don't know if this is an internal-to-dealer invoice number or whether it works with the Ford Factory too.

Is there someone that can help me? Or are both the dealership and I at the mercy of the factory here? Thanks!

Hey felixdd,

Send me a PM with your order number and dealer name; I can check on the status of your vehicle and see if the ETA has uploaded yet. I'm happy to give you weekly updates as well!

Quote:

Originally Posted by lddavis

...Get in touch with a Ford customer service rep, and ask them for your order status. A PM to "FordCustomerService" on this website has always produced a quick response for me. You can also find them on Facebook, or on the phone. There's a volunteer at blueovalforums.com that will give you status updates as well...

I have an ST3 on order and here's the information I've received so far. Hope this provides a reference for some of you.

10/29/2012 - Put a deposit down and completed the order with my salesman.
11/01/2012 - Received email from retailorders@fordprogramhq.com/Order approved and tracking number provided. But I'm not sure why, as I have no means of following it without my salesman's help.
11/23/2012 - Salesman provided me the VIN.
11/30/2012 - Window sticker showed up on ResearchManiacs.com. Blend 120121206. (I think tomorrow 'may' be her birthday).
12/03/2012 - Salesman advised ~arrival date of 12/24/2012...hohoho!

I got a little anxious around November 20th and popped off an email to the above Ford address:

Me,

Thank you for your email. All inquiries about your vehicle should go through your dealer.

An update -- a few days after I PM'd FCS, i called the dealer and they gave me the VIN outright. The car is scheduled to roll off the line tomorrow and I'll probably take delivery next week-ish but at least now I have a ballpark (which is what I really wanted anyways)

I have an ST3 on order and here's the information I've received so far. Hope this provides a reference for some of you.

10/29/2012 - Put a deposit down and completed the order with my salesman.
11/01/2012 - Received email from retailorders@fordprogramhq.com/Order approved and tracking number provided. But I'm not sure why, as I have no means of following it without my salesman's help.
11/23/2012 - Salesman provided me the VIN.
11/30/2012 - Window sticker showed up on ResearchManiacs.com. Blend 120121206. (I think tomorrow 'may' be her birthday).
12/03/2012 - Salesman advised ~arrival date of 12/24/2012...hohoho!

I got a little anxious around November 20th and popped off an email to the above Ford address:

Me,

Thank you for your email. All inquiries about your vehicle should go through your dealer.

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the Ford Focus Forum, Ford Focus ST Forum, Ford Focus RS Forum forums, you must first register.
Please enter your desired user name, your email address and other required details in the form below.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.

Focus Fanatics Ford Focus Forum offers many fun ways for you to engage with other Ford Focus Owners from across the world. Whether it be about the aftermarket performance modifications, technical how-to's, European tuned suspension or awesome fuel economy similar to the Audi S3, Ford Fusion and Acura TLX. You can find all Ford Focus and Focus ST related information here. Join our Ford Focus discussion forums and chat with local Focus enthusiasts in your area. Challenger Hellcat - Charger Hellcat